“A&W is a great place to work. I was able to get a number of opportunities to learn about real estate and franchising,” Senecal said.

From there, she led the company’s eastern Canadian operations and continued to climb the restaurant’s ranks to vice-president of operations for Canada, eventually landing the role of chief marketing officer. In 2015, she became president and chief operating officer for the quick service chain. While her role is a far cry from a geneticist, her education in science has contributed to her approach to the restaurant business.

“You set yourself up to define what it is you care about and what you’re trying to achieve,” Senecal said. “It calls on us to understand internal and external factors that influence the future. There’s a lot about my studies that did equip me well, but obviously that’s dwarfed by the amount I’ve learned actually by being in the restaurant business.”

A&W’s franchisees help provide her ongoing education in the industry. The company invests heavily in its “working climate” to ensure knowledge is retained and shared to encourage the business to thrive.

“From my perspective, an essential part of A&W’s success is really the partnership we enjoy with our franchisees,” Senecal said. “A lot of our operators are in minute-to-minute touch with our guests and have a fantastic understanding of what it takes to run a successful business.”

Working with franchisees led to A&W launching a recruitment drive to attract more millennials to franchise ownership. When the company studied its successful urban locations, they discovered a recurring theme. The success of the restaurant chain’s urban concept was tied to millennials in senior leadership positions.

To capitalize on its research, A&W began offering its urban franchise stores for about $125,000 to $150,000. In comparison, the classic version of the restaurant costs about $300,000 to $400,000. A&W’s first urban franchise associate will open a new location at Keele and Dundas Street West in Toronto this month.

“We have a number of other millennials in various stages of training. It’s been a fantastic learning program,” Senecal said. “We’ve had a lot of interest from millennial franchisees, and we continue to have big demand from that area.”

Several changes at A&W were millennial-driven. Opening urban locations 24 hours a day was an idea pitched by one of the brand’s young franchisees. As well, the move to source beef raised without hormones or steroids, antibiotic-free chicken and Canadian-farmed eggs were influenced by input from A&W’s younger customers.

At the end of 2016, the company announced 100 per cent of the protein it serves would be sourced from animals raised as naturally as possible.

“We do stand out there as being first and only,” Senecal said. “The interest that consumers have for (natural) food, we really see that trend evolving in various places, from grocery stores to fine dining.”

Throughout last year, A&W also began matching all-day breakfast with its all-day burgers at about 40 locations. In January, the company announced all of its 870 locations would no longer separate its menu items based on day-part. The all-day breakfast menu will launch Feb. 27, and includes the Bacon & Egger, Sausage & Egger and Cheese & Egger breakfast sandwiches as well as its breakfast wrap, coffee and hash browns.

“The response was tremendous, particularly from millennials, and we know that breakfast is something Canadians don’t limit to just the morning,” Senecal said.

By 2020, A&W plans to open 75 new urban locations with 25 owned by millennial franchisees. The restaurant concept is designed for densely populated areas with high pedestrian traffic. Each urban concept is open 24 hours a day, requires 1,500 to 2,000 square feet and seats about 45 guests. The design aims to accommodate young families that are migrating to urban areas.

“Cities used to be regarded as a place where people went for shopping and maybe fine dining. Today, it’s increasingly a place where people are living and where they’re spending their leisure time,” Senecal said. “We see a lot of opportunity for growth in urban restaurants.”

A&W growth will also target new locations in Ontario and Quebec.

“While Western Canada continues to offer us opportunities every year, the biggest areas of growth are Ontario and Quebec,” Senecal said.

While all of A&W’s protein options have a naturally raised guarantee, Senecal explained they continue to work with suppliers and farmers to enhance menu options in an effort to meet the interests of their patrons.

“We’re far from being at our final destination; we keep finding new opportunities and continue to evolve,” Senecal said. “There will be lots to come.”

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Ishcom publications

Ishcom Publications was established in 1986 with the launch of Ontario Restaurant News, offering national coverage with a provincial focus of the news that matters to the restaurant and foodservice industry. The company expanded its regional concentration with the addition of Pacific/Prairie Restaurant News and Atlantic Restaurant News. In 2004, Ishcom Publications added Canadian Lodging News to its portfolio to offer its industry news coverage to the accommodation sector.